Serie A Preview: Fiorentina v Milan

Life for under-fire Milan coach Clarence Seedorf gets no easier when his side visit Fiorentina in Serie A on Wednesday.

Published

24 March 2014

Milan have not won in more than a month and travel to Florence in danger of slipping to 14th if they lose.

For Milan to be mired in mid-table mediocrity is simply not acceptable for the 18-time Italian champions and although Seedorf's men showed signs of improvement in a 1-1 draw at Lazio on Sunday, the winless run continued.

For Seedorf to take the sole blame for that is unfair, given the 37-year-old only took over in January, but his arrival has failed to revive the club's fortunes.

Only Real Madrid have won more European Cups than Milan's seven, but they will not part of the competition next season due to their poor form.

And needing a morale-boosting win, a visit to the fourth-placed Fiorentina is hardly what Seedorf would have had in mind.

Milan defender Philippe Mexes was buoyed by the side's point at Lazio – a match in which Mario Balotelli also hit the post – and insists that everyone at the club is united behind Seedorf.

"We're very united and I mean that with all sincerity," Mexes said.

"We'll always give everything. It's a particular moment that we're going through and we won't get out of it without the fans behind us. We know what this jersey means to them.

"We'll do everything we can to get out of this situation and we're ready for the match against Fiorentina. We want to bring home a positive result."

Goalkeeper Christian Abbiati could return from suspension for Milan in place of Marco Amelia, while young forward Stephan El Shaarawy (foot) is still sidelined.

Milan will take heart from the fact that Fiorentina have not won one of their last seven Serie A home matches against them.

Of those clashes, four have been away wins and Milan would dearly love a big scalp on the road to boost spirits.

Fiorentina, though, are sure to be in good spirits after an excellent 1-0 victory at Napoli on Sunday.

Vincenzo Montella's side took advantage of Faouzi Ghoulam's first-half red card, but left it late, Joaquin's winner coming with just three minutes left.

The result ended a three-match winless league run on the road and saw them move four points clear of the rampaging Parma, who are unbeaten in 17 Serie A matches.

Fiorentina were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals by Juventus last week, but can now concentrate their energies on Serie A - something that may give them the edge over their opponents.

Montella is without Giuseppe Rossi (knee) for the rest of the season, but will be hopeful that Mario Gomez can fill the void.

The German, who has also battled injuries this campaign, has netted just three Serie A goals for his side.